Monday, August 29, 2011

Rock-Bottom Lows, Mountain-Top Highs


In Life, I find that there are times when it seems everything is going wonderfully, times when it seems as if God might just be looking down and be calling you His favorite. It’s those times when life seems great and everything happens to be going your way. I like to call these times in our lives the “Mountain-top highs.” Then there are those times when the complete opposite happens. Times when nothing goes your way, challenges arise, your faith in God diminishes, and it might even seem that the whole world is against you. These are the infamous “Rock-bottom lows” of our lives.

A lot has happened in my life over the last year and a half. To name a few things; I married my beautiful wife Katie, moved from one job to another, moved to a completely new city, and have finished my Master’s Degree. It has been an amazing season, one where I definitely had many mountain-top highs in my relationship with the Lord and looking back it’s easy to count blessing after blessing of God’s faithfulness in my life. But the simple fact that there has been so much change in my life makes it easy to understand that I’ve also had my fair share of rock-bottom lows.

We can observe from Elijah’s life in 1 Kings 18-19 that he also had his mountain-top high’s and rock-bottom lows. In 1 Kings 18 Elijah was on his mountain-top high while defeating the 450 false prophets of Baal. He had so much faith in God that when he called on the Lord, the Lord reigned down fire from heaven that consumed the wooden altar and led to his victory over the false prophets. Now just one chapter later, in chapter 19, we see Elijah running scared after a threat against his life is put out. We might wonder, how is it that this man of faith, just moments later, doesn’t have the faith to trust God to protect him? Why doesn’t he stand strong and trust in the Lord? Well I love what James 5:17 says. It reads, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” (James 5:17). He wasn’t superhuman, he was just like us! And how are we? Well I know how I am, and there are times where right after God shows His faithfulness I begin doubting and not trusting that He’s going to come through again when the next challenge comes my way.

Now, the way God responds to Elijah during 1 Kings 19 teaches us 3 things about God that we all need to know during our rock-bottom lows, three things that will give us the confidence and power to make it through even our lowest of lows.  The first thing we learn about God occurs when Elijah is sleeping under the broom tree. During this time an angel of the Lord says in verse 7 of chapter 19, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” We can learn here that God acknowledges us in the fact that often times the journey, the rock-bottom lows we are in is too great for us to endure on our own. After the angel says this to Elijah, the angel feeds him and gives him drink on two different occasions. From this food and drink Elijah has enough strength to continue running for 40 days all the way to Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai. We can learn here that the Lord will strengthen us during our rock-bottom lows. Philippians 4:13 echoes this, and not only will He strengthen us, but he will give us more than we need as He did with Elijah.

The second thing we can learn about God is from verses 15-18 of chapter 19. At this point, God has begun a conversation with Elijah, and in response to Elijah’s distress, God gives him 3 new tasks to complete; anoint Hazael as king over Syria, anoint Jehu king over Israel, and anoint Elisha as prophet in his place. This shows us that God has a plan. God is working all things for His good and He knows even the long-term plans for our lives. Sometimes, in our times of despair, we lose perspective to see the bigger picture and forget that God is ultimately in control. God reminds Elijah here that He has a plan, just as He has a plan for all of our lives. And sometimes, during these low points, we just need but a glimpse of it, just a few small tasks to keep our attention off our distractions and focused on God. So remember, God has a plan for your life.

The third thing we can learn about God comes also from His response to Elijah in verse 18. God says, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”  (v.18). Elijah basically told God that He was the only person left who still loved God. The Lord responded by basically saying, well Elijah, you exaggerated a bit, because there are still 7000 others who worship me. Often during our lows, it seems like there’s no possible way things are going to improve or work out for the better. What we have to remember, just as God reminded Elijah, is that God is resourceful. He has all resources available at His fingertips, and when things don’t seem possible in the natural, we must remember that they are possible in the supernatural, through God.

The last thing I want to mention is something I noticed in verse 8 and the first part of verse 9. It says, So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. And there he went into a cave…” Elijah knew that in his rock-bottom low, he needed to find that place where he could just get away, a place that if he made it there he knew he could meet with God and things would be okay. For Elijah, it was Mount Horeb, the same place God met with Moses and the children of Israel. For me, during my depressing times, I know if I can just go on a walk and talk with the Lord, things will be okay. Or if I can just spend that time doing my devotions each morning in my living room, I will meet with God. So I pose 2 questions to my readers; first, when tough situations come, do you run to God or do you run to other false idols? Second, where is that place for you? Where is that place you go to meet with God during tough situations?

As followers of Christ, we must learn to rely on Christ to lead us. Elijah was close to God, He pursued God, He spent time with God, and unless we are doing the same we won’t be able to make it through these lows, these tough times. We can choose to do it on our own, but from my own life, I gave up on doing that a long time ago. I was tired of using all my own strength, of getting depressed, feeling hopeless, not knowing how things would work out. When I began running to God instead of running to my own securities and relying on my own answers, I was able to walk in confidence, walk with purpose and know that my God is there to help.

So my question now to you is, where do you run? Is it to God?

Leadership Lesson of the week: As leaders it is easy to feel that we are alone on the journey and that everything hinges on our decisions. We must remember that God is in control, He has a plan, He has all the resources necessary, and He will give you the strength to continue.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Becoming A Great Leader

There’s usually not much time for me to watch much T.V. during the week, so my primary way of catching up on the news is by logging onto Yahoo and reading the news updates. If you’re at all like me, you’ll scroll through to the updates that are most appealing and spend time reading up on what’s new, often losing track of time. But it doesn’t seem like many weeks go by before I come across another article about a leader who has failed, usually in a moral or ethical way. Their stardom mixed with the notoriety brings them a lot of scrutiny from others and more importantly shows us just how hard it is to be a leader.

Whether it was the lessons from your parent(s) or a public figure in your life, we have all been influenced by others to some degree, some greater than others. It doesn’t matter if you live or work in a secular or non-secular environment, there is leaders, people with the ability to have an influence on others’ lives.

As Christians, followers of Jesus, we have all been called to bring positive influence to others around us and in the world, and through this influence we are to lead others to a life and faith in Jesus. So, plainly stated then, leadership translates into influencing others. We are to be an influence for Jesus and the kingdom.

What ends up becoming difficult and a challenge for most of us then is mimicking the actions of Jesus in our pursuit to be “like” Him. We’ve all seen those wristbands with “WWJD” on them, standing for What Would Jesus Do. They are a good reminder to live as Christ would and to be a positive influence to others. The problem with the concept of simply mimicking what we think Jesus would do is that we often miss the deeper side to Jesus out of which His behaviors flow. If we mimic only behaviors then we will never get it right because we will do what we think Jesus would do and possibly mix it with our own rationalizations based off our desired outcome of the situation. Thus, running the risk of not doing what Jesus would do at all.

What we have to understand is that our actions flow out of our identity. If we strive to mimic actions, we will always end up failing. That is why Paul writes in Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” By transforming and renewing our mind we change our nature. So what we need is not improvement of our behavior or to imitate actions, but replacement of our nature and a transformed mind. Out of this we will form our identity in Christ and from our identity our actions will flow. As we put on the mind of Christ as Paul states in Colossians 3:10, and as we allow His will to be ours, then our Christ-like actions will come naturally.

Kevin Mannoia, author of Integrity Factor, was one the professors of my Masters program in Leadership at APU. While expanding on this topic, he used the analogy of an iceberg to demonstrate this point. When looking at the surface of an iceberg, you only see one-tenth of the entire mound of ice. Nine-tenths of the iceberg is under water. But it is the top portion that takes on the storms and extreme challenges of weather. Similar to our life, the top portion of the iceberg is what people see of us; our actions, performance, etc. The bottom portion of the iceberg is what keeps the top portion grounded during storms and allows the top to stay sturdy. In our life, the bottom of the iceberg is our identity. It is out of our identity in Christ that our actions flow. It is out of our identity that we are able to perform under pressure, overcome the storms in our lives, and lead others without failing. It is when we forget about our core, our identity, and begin basing success and leadership off the sole actions and performance of ourselves that we begin to lose our foundation. When the iceberg gets too top heavy it’s bound to crash, crumble or fall apart. The buoyancy level and the core beneath have to be strong enough to support the top during the storms. This is why many leaders end up failing because they base their success primarily off their actions and performance (the top of the iceberg) and neglect the wellspring of life (the bottom of the iceberg) from which their actions flow.

So we have to tend to our core, tend to our relationship with Jesus from which our identity is built and made solid. Instead of strictly looking at the outward performance, actions, and characteristics of leaders in your life and trying to mimic them, strive to seek God and work on your foundation. Spend time in the word and in prayer, and allow God to take you through the crucibles of life, those shaping moments. Out of this strong core, your actions and behaviors will be built, and being Christ-like to others will come naturally.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Discovering your vocation

Many of us ask the infamous questions, "what's next, what's my purpose, what is God calling me to do?" We all search to answer that life-long question especially as we walk through life's major transitions. There's something inside us that longs for inner satisfaction, mission, and a purpose larger than ourselves. In our attempts to answer the question, we often throw around words such as; job, work, career, occupation, profession, calling, and vocation. But in which one do we find God's purpose for our lives?

As a united body of believers and peers on this journey of becoming more like Christ, we had this great teaching and discussion during our most recent young adults service here at the Highlands. Some things we know through scripture are that God works things for His good as seen in Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We also know that if we pursue righteousness in our lives and seek God He will direct our steps. Psalm 37:23 echos this by saying, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” So how then do we find His will, His purposes for our lives? Well we know we can trust the Lord to direct our steps as we seek Him. Proverbs 3:5-8 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him"…In how many of your ways? Some, a few, a couple… ALL. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him! In all that you do acknowledge Him.…”And He shall" He might? He will think about it? He WILL, He SHALL…"Direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from Evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. We are to seek the Lord, to trust Him with everything, and believe He has the best intentions in mind. We can trust Him with our lives because He has good plans for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." This is assuring! This is good news as we release our will and lives to Him! But what is vocation? What is my purpose?

Well vocation is the unique calling that is upon the life of each person. It is the reason you are who you are and why you do what you do. It is lived out within, through, and beyond our regular responsibilities. Vocation, if aligned correctly in our lives, can be applied to your family, work, ministry and all other areas of your life. It is what gives our lives purpose, satisfaction, contribution, and meaning. A place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep needs. It is what you are made to do, what you are made to accomplish.

Jesus for example, says in John 18:37, "For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth." This was His vocation, His ultimate purpose. By His ability to understand His vocation, His purpose, no matter what happened He was able to be fulfilled and satisfied because He was doing what He knew He was created to do. Even in our lives, when we are walking in our vocation and calling, things can still become difficult. But if we know our purpose, our calling, then we can always walk with purpose knowing we are doing and being exactly who God created us to be.

We can now be released from finding our identity in our careers. We can be released from the stress of worrying about what's next. If God directs our path, then our responsibility is to seek God, go deeper in our relationship with Him, seek to know Him more than ever! This takes the pressure of the question, "what's next" because it's not for us to figure out.

So I invite you to seek God, search for His voice, His will, and calling upon your life. Examine your inner passions, gifts-both spiritual and natural, find out what you enjoy doing most, and through prayer, journaling and time with the Lord, ask Him to reveal to you His purpose, His vocation for your life. 

Thursday, August 11, 2011

The power of one

As I have been reading and studying John 4 and the woman at the well I am overly amazed with the power of one person, Jesus. In this story He took the time to be obedient to the Lord, go to Samaria during His journey to Galilee, and talk with one woman who in turn had an influence on many others. This woman was a reject in the society, a bit promiscuous and a flirt. But Jesus, through His words with her, forgave her, restored her relationship with the Lord and empowered her to go out and lead others to Christ. This taught me several very valuable things that I could apply directly to my life.
First, if we saturate our lives with the word of God, and invest in our relationship with Him, we become familiar with the Lord's voice, and when He speaks to us or leads us to others we will be ready and in tune with His leading.
Second, just as He did with this Samaritan woman, He has empowered us and sent us all out with a testimony to share with others. You don't have to be a Bible scholar, only a sinner who has had an encounter with the living God! Being that we are all sinners, we all have the opportunity to experience God's love, forgiveness and acceptance, and as we walk in His love and experience Him more, our hearts are changed, and out of a changed heart we are empowered, compelled and motivated then to go and share this love with others.
Finally, the third thing we can learn from this story is the power of one. The power of one person to take the time and talk with one person who is rejected from society, maybe someone who's a little socially awkward or time consuming, maybe someone who's of a different religion or background even. But by the the time invested by one, Jesus, this one lady's life was forever transformed. Then this one woman, now empowered with a testimony went out and led several men right away to Christ through her testimony.
So my challenge to you then is this. Who is your one? Who is your one person that each day you might pass by, but deep in your heart you know they need Jesus. Who is the one person maybe God is placing on your heart to take the time and share His love with. Who is your one. As Mother Teresa said, "It's a large ocean, but with your help, it's an ocean with one less drop." So who's your one?

Sean